The Shin Sekai - Omakes
by Lord Nayrael
Summary: Various omakes for my "The Shin Sekai" fanfic


**Foreword:** In this fanfic, I will be posting any specials related to TSS

**Note: **This was supposed to be released on 13th of December (two years ago on this day I published the first chapter of _The Shin Sekai_), but because I will be away during the weekend I am releasing this a day earlier than planned.

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><p><strong>Chapter 0 – Four Generations of Youkai Heroes<strong>

_No sounds could be heard, even though the place was filled with a hundred people, most of who did not even look like humans, let alone were. But no matter their features, be they a small fairy-like person, large as the palm of a hand and with a glass on their head or a dragon that floated above one of the groups of people, nobody made a sound but all of them gazed in front of them, where two persons stood._

_One of those two was a man dressed in a black yukata, with gourd-shaped hair that defied gravity. The other person was a woman, wearing a hood-like headgear, called Wataboshi, on her head and was dressed in white from head to toe. Her eyes were gold, the few bangs of her hair that could be seen where in shades of blue and black and her breath was cold as ice._

_Both of them drank from cups of sake, each cup they raised to their lips twice but only drank on the third. Both the man and woman looked each one in the eyes as they did it, each remembering how seven years ago they also drank sake together, although that was a different kind of ceremony… but both were important to them in their own ways._

_To him, she was a person he knew his entire life, someone who was there for him no matter what kind of problem occurred, be it trivial or life-threatening, and who never complained, but always supported him with unfaltering love and resolve. He was spoiled to the point that he probably would not know what to do without her around to aid him._

_To her, he was always an object of adoration. She loved this person, the dream of his, his resolve, his strength, his kindness, his ferocious protectiveness… he was the kind of person she, and many others, wanted to be. She fought and protected him her entire life, ready to give up it up for his well-being. And this person returned the feelings to her, loving her as much as she loved him._

_As per tradition, now was the time for the groom to speak out their vow. The man wondered if he would be too embarrassed to do this, but now that the time came he, strangely, felt serene._

_"We make this marriage vow respectfully before the gods"_

_"We, Rikuo and Tsurara, are delighted to be able to make our vows on this great day, and to become husband and wife, through the blessing of the gods"_

_"We swear before the gods to love and respect each other forever and to strive to bring our family prosperity"_

_"Moreover, we swear to never veer from the true path of matrimony, and to work and share the divine grace of the gods by helping the people and the society, the humans and youkai alike"_

_Once the vow was spoken, a shrine maiden walked to them with sakaki branches, which the couple took and placed on the altar, after which they both bowed and clapped twice._

_And then came the final part, Yubiwa-no-gi, the exchange of rings. The man was the first one to take his ring and put it on the woman's finger. Then the woman put a ring on his finger. But the bride did not immediately move her hand away, but for a moment clenched his and looked at him with joy in her eyes._

_And then everyone around them cheered and drank their own cups of sake._

_And so, Nura Rikuo and Tsurara were married._

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><p><em>"Geez…" Tsurara pouted above her husband's half-naked body. "We got married only a month ago you know. You should be more cautious, I don't want to become a widow at this age, Rikuo-sama."<em>

_"Sorry, sorry," Rikuo smiled while his wife's cold hands treated his wounds. "But there was never anything to fear, these guys were just a bunch of upstarts." As a matter of fact, his wounds were so minor that he did not understand why she even had to treat them._

_"Even so, I'd like you to be more cautious," Tsurara continued to complain._

_"You have become quite pushy lately." Rikuo commented and petted he cheek. "Calm down love, you know better than anyone how tough I am. I won't be killed so easily."_

_"Yes, but if you…" She started but then went silent and averted her eyes while her mouth curved like she was in thought._

_"Hmmm…? Is there a specific reason why you are complaining?"_

_Tsurara smiled and looked at him, with her hands moving onto his cheeks._

_After a few moments of silence, Rikuo asked: "What is it Tsurara?"_

_Once again, she did not say anything. She just smiled and moved her hands onto her belly._

_It took Rikuo only a few moments to realize what she meant, after which he rose up and kneeled in front of his sitting wife. "Really?"_

_She nodded with a large, joyful smile on her face._

_"Ha ha…" And then Rikuo also smiled. "Ha ha ha!" And he hugged her, and she returned the hug. For a reason he could not truly know himself, he was joyful at the thought that he would become a father… so joyful that he did not even care about how he sounded to others. "It is our child!"_

_"Yes, it is our child!" She also said in a tone filled with happiness. "We are getting a baby!"_

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><p><em>Mhm, it sure seems like nice weather today.<em> A brown-haired man wearing glasses, called Nura Rikuo, was standing in the yard behind his large mansion. He held a wooden sword with his right hand, the sword resting on his shoulder, while his left hand was on his hip.

It was a great day. For starters, the sky had a nice shade of blue, or at least he felt like it had, while the sun was shining on the greenery around him. Even the humble grass looked pretty, to the point he'd most rather call his wife so they could both sit down on the ground and enjoy the day.

The smells of spring and the gentle breeze made the feeling all the better, and he enjoyed holding his head up high. _Truly, this is the best._

However, none of those were the reason why he enjoyed this day. To be exact, he enjoyed those because something else improved his mood.

He lowered his head and looked left, at one of the reasons why this day was so bright for him: a golden eyed, white and teal haired girl, seventeen years of age, in a light-gray kimono, with a scarf, was holding a sword and looked at him with annoyance and determination in her eyes as she held a wooden sword with her two hands. The girl was his daughter and little princess, Nura Ritsura.

Turning his eyes right, he saw a boy, sixteen years of age, in a black yukata, white scarf and with black and white gourd-shaped hair. He too was holding a wooden sword and stood as if he was preparing to strike at him. He too had a look of irritation on his face. He was Nura Rihan, his dear son whom he named after his own deceased father.

"Plan D," his daughter said and started walking right, but keeping the same distance from her father as she did before.

Her brother also started walking to his right and keeping the same distance, but he prepared his sword so he could make an uppercut, whereas his sister kept the same form.

However, their father kept standing like he did moments ago: with one hand on his hip and with the other keeping the sword on his shoulder. He did not even move when Ritsura changed the way she held her sword to be the same like her brother, half a moment after which both of them ran at him.

Only once both of them were around a meter far away from him did he move his body, but his hands did not move at all.

Rikuo was, however, a bit surprised when Ritsura froze the ground under him, but even that was something he took as a possible move from her. Her brother was no doubt, informed beforehand that she would do this, which was probably the part of this _Plan D_ of theirs.

Rikuo threw his sword into the air after which he ducked to avoid their horizontal strikes. Using his left leg, he pushed himself forward so he would pass past them, which was soon followed by him grabbing their heads and smacking them onto one another.

"Gah!" "Ouch!"

"Hahaha!" Rikuo laughed and jumped away from the frozen part of the ground, after which he caught the sword which he threw into the air. "Come on kids, I am not even in my youkai form!"

"Where the hell did you get that hard head, brother?" Ritsura complained while stroking her forehead. "I was sure I heard a dong!"

"You're one to talk, idiot." Rihan also stroked his own forehead. "I told you that he would use that ice against us!"

"If you two have energy to argue, then you can do another round!" Rikuo taunted them. "If you don't even land a hit on me, I will have you do the house cleaning this weekend."

"Dammed!" The young girl, who did not like hearing that she would be grounded for the weekend, immediately raised herself up and prepared for another strike.

"Grrrr…" Rihan was also already at the age when weekend grounding was out of question.

_It feels like it was only yesterday when I could still motivate them with toys and cartoons._ It was a bittersweet feeling for their father, although he was immensely proud to see them grow. Not wanting to be mean towards them anymore, Rikuo lowered his sword and prepared to use it once they attacked.

"What's the next plan, sis?" Rihan asked Ritsura.

"'_Everything goes, just hit him'_Plan!" Ritsura now held the sword with her right hand only while in her left she created a small ice spike. "Just land a hit on him so we don't get grounded."

_That spike is unusable as a sword… I wonder what she plans with it. Maybe it is a new technique?_ Rikuo smirked at the thought. Even though his daughter learned new techniques all the time, it was nonetheless always fun to see what she came up with.

"So we are using some new techniques?" His son also put his sword into his right hand, but held nothing in his left hand which he raised and spread its fingers. Rikuo felt like he was preparing to use _Meikyou Shisui_, which was a technique used by Nurarihyons to fool an enemy's senses, but there was something different about it. _Hoo, both of you seem to have been training behind my back. This should be fun._

Although Rikuo was in his more vulnerable human form, which penalized his techniques, he did not feel worried about his chances. What his strength momentarily lacked, he made up for with experience.

Rihan raised his hand further, hiding his mouth. By the looks on Ritsura's face as she turned her head at him and nodded, it seemed like he was telling her something. A moment after, Rihan returned to holding his hand like he did before.

And while his son continued to stand where he was, Ritsura ran towards her father, with the wooden sword behind her and turning around the ice spike in her left hand.

Rikuo deflected her sword with his, but she turned around and slashed the ice spike in horizontal direction. Although it looked like it was too short to do any damage to him, Rikuo was not naive so he started moving backwards and moved his sword, which he held with both hands, to defend against whatever might come.

The ice spike turned into a dagger which just hit into his sword. Before Rikuo could guess what her plan was, his left leg slipped. _Ha, ice slipping again._ He moved his left hand away from the sword and grabbed her arm before she could hit him with her wooden sword.

But just then the dagger started growing and turning into a long, blunt weapon that would have smashed into Rikuo's face had he not pulled his head back in time, after which he jumped a few meters away from her. And then, when he looked up at her again, his daughter's face turned into a green skull.

_What?_ Rikuo froze from shock but once he blinked, his daughter looked normal again… and had moved considerably in what seemed like a moment.

"Hai!" She softly hit him on his head with her sword, and Rikuo felt another sword touch him on his hip. "Woohoo, we are not grounded!"

"As if you would not sneak out of the mansion if that happened, sister," Rihan taunted her, but had a smirk on his face as well. If Rikuo was in the mood, he would have commented that his son and daughter both tended to do the same thing.

But he was not in the mood. _What the hell was that?_

"In any case, what was that Rihan?" Ritsura asked her brother. "Dad looked like he saw a ghost and did not move for half a minute."

_Half a minute?_ Rikuo was certain that less than that had passed.

"I am not sure myself to be honest." Rihan shrugged and sat on the ground. "I was training _Meikyou Shisui_ when it just came up to me. I did not even train it properly nor do I know what happens to those I use it on, but it seems that it scares the ones I use it on or they lose their sense of time."

"It is more likely both." Rikuo did not feel as if he liked the technique, but he would not complain as he was proud that his son was making something for himself.

"Oh, are you guys done training?" A woman's voice came from the direction of the mansion. "Perfect timing then, lunch is ready~" The woman who came was Tsurara, Rikuo's wife and the mother of Ritsura and Rihan. In her hand she held a picnic basket while several of her Tsukumogami flew behind her with food-filled dishes. "Ritsura dear, come and help me with this."

"Ooooh!" Ritsura happily ran to her mother while rubbing her hands. "Are we going to be eating outside, mom?"

"It is a lovely day, isn't it?" Tsurara said with a bright smile while she put the basket down and handed the blanket to her daughter. "It is just perfect for a small change in our everyday meals!"

"Hm hm, yes it indeed is~" Ritsura nodded as she put the blanket down after which she started taking food from the Tsukumogami. "How many years has it been since we have been doing something like this again?"

"Two years I think," Rihan commented.

"So much, huh?" Rikuo sighed when he mentioned it. Although Rikuo always found time for his family, he was still frustrated that the clan affairs kept him busy for the last few years. He almost started thinking about the current problems again, but made himself forget about it. _Leave it for tonight. I am now spending time with my wife and kids._ Rikuo sat down beside his wife who was still putting the rest of the meal on the blanket. But she still managed to throw him a smile while moving her hands and body around.

The very moment that the last bowl was put down, Ritsura shouted: "Itadakimasu!" And created ice sticks between her fingers.

"Itadakimasu!" The other four answered. _Wait, other four?_

"Hohoho!" His grandfather, the First Commander of the Nura Clan, suddenly appeared on the side opposite of Rikuo and Tsurara. "And I thought that I smelled some food."

"You food-snatching old man, are you not going to show any mercy to your own kin either?" Rikuo asked him, but both the tone of his voice and the smile on his face proved that he did not mind his grandfather joining them.

"Wherever there is food near a Nurarihyon, Nurarihyon will snatch it, he he he!" The old man laughed and took the largest bowl of meat for himself.

"You are so tiny gramps, where does all that food go anyway?" Ritsura asked him while putting her mouth in an _O shape_.

"Here of course." Nurarihyon knocked on his gourd-shaped head. "Eat well kids and you will have a pretty head just like me."

"Heeh… I am starting to feel a need to go on a diet in near future," Rihan said while averting his eyes towards the grass behind him.

"Then feel free to leave your share to me, brother." Ritsura said while eating rice. "I can use some fat in my boobs."

"Mind your language young lady! That is no way to talk at a family meal!" Tsurara immediately pulled Ritsura's ear. "Actually, that is no way to talk anywhere!"

"You know Tsurara… maybe you should start eating more," Rikuo commented to her while looking at her chest. "For health reasons of course."

It took her a moment to realize what Rikuo meant. "Rikuo-sama!" Tsurara blushed and put her kimono's sleeve above her chest. "That is no way to talk during a family meal!"

Nurarihyon, Rikuo and Ritsura laughed at her reaction, while Rihan was wise enough to stay silent.

"Young lady, you are grounded," Tsurara said while gazing at her daughter.

"Ugh…" Ritsura might as well have turned into stone by how motionless she had become. "But… but… we beat dad…"

"We just poked him with a stick, sister," Rihan corrected her. "He would have sent us into early bedtime if he were serious."

"You did not get grounded so don't talk!" Ritsura complained while pointing her sticks at him.

"No pointing sticks at others!" Tsurara yelled at her again. "You are now grounded on Sunday as well!"

"Iiiiiiiiiii…" Ritsura screamed silently.

"So, how were they doing?" Tsurara asked Rikuo while her daughter was still silently screaming.

"Their technique is weak, but they are doing impressively well," Rikuo said with a smirk. "Still, they need more practice."

"Of course their technique is weak." Nurarihyon had finished his bowl and went to drink some sake… which he must have brought with him because Tsurara never brought any. "They need to go out and attack some strangers, not swing sticks in the garden."

"Don't start it again, gramps." Rikuo gave him an angry look, although that angry look was also directed at himself. His grandfather was right, Rihan and Ritsura would need more experience in the field and they are at the age where other youkai already started mastering the arts of war.

But whenever Rikuo just thought of giving them more freedom, _that scene_from eight years ago would resurface. Rikuo's felt his eyes burn so he blinked and turned his head downwards so nobody would notice that the face he was making. But when his eyes fell on his hands, he saw blood on them while the bowl had turned into a fragile, bloodied body of a child who was on verge of dying, the child begging him for help. _Never again… never again…_

But then something very cold enveloped his body and he was looking at the present once again. He also felt Tsurara's soft hand on his fingers. He then looked at his children and grandfather, but noticed that they were all looking at one another, so none of them seem to have noticed his moment of vulnerability.

Then he looked at Tsurara who had a sad yet supportive smile on her face. "Thank you…" He said by moving his lips but without making a noise. Tsurara understood it and nodded, after which she moved her hand away. She suffered as much as he did, but she was always the one to bring him back from his past by using the simple shock therapy, that is by suddenly lowering the temperature of his body. He felt guilty for having her carry that burden on her shoulders, but even after eight years he could not find a way to get over it so he had to depend on her in situations like this.

"But I still don't get, how did you survive the fact that your heart was pulled out?" Rihan asked his great-grandfather.

"That' because you need more than that to kill someone like me." Nurarihyon winked at his off-spring. "Seriously though, I don't know myself. I did not even care about the fact that I lost the heart until I realized that I started aging like crazy."

"Note to self: don't let your heart get stolen," Ritsura commented after she ate some meat. "We don't want to turn into a hag a thousand years too early."

"Idiot, gramps is the only one who survived something like that." Rihan went to annoy his sister.

"Did you fail to notice my wordplay? I-"

"No, I take it back." Rihan did not even listen to her words. "You might even be stupid enough to not notice that someone pulled your heart out." Rihan had a grimace that sang the word '_mocking'_.

"What did you say, you stupid little brother?!" Ritsura jumped onto her feet and looked at him with hostility. "You wanna fight it out, you brat?!"

"Alright, bring it on stupid sister!" Rihan also jumped up and looked at her as if he was ready to fight.

"Hey now…" Rikuo decided to try and calm them down before another of their quarrels turned into a fight. "Sit down and-"

"Yeah, fight it out!" Nurarihyon cheered them on. "Just give me a moment to call the others so we can start betting!" He already raised himself onto his feet, ready to go get the others. "Last time I lost my bets but-"

Rikuo heard Tsurara sighing beside him and steeled himself for what was to come.

"ALL THREE OF YOU SIT DOWN OF YOU AND EAAAAAAAAAT!" A thunderstorm could be heard as the grass around them turned white.

As if the earlier minute never happened, the kids were sitting and eating with perfect manners while Nurarihyon was lying on the ground and smoked a pipe.

"Geez…" Tsurara sighed once again and returned to eating.

"Tsurara, I am going to the States next week," Rikuo said in a whisper.

"Huh?" Tsurara looked at him with her golden eyes.

"I have a bad feeling about one of our potential enemies." Rikuo gave her a short version of the story. "I fear that, if we don't hurry learn at least something about them, we will regret it."

"I understand… but why the States?"

"Because they won't expect be expecting me there… I hope." He was not sure how well-informed this enemy was now or how far exactly their influence reached. "I will be leaving the clan in your care, Tsurara," he said while they both looked at their children bothering the Nura Clan's founder about his past again.

Tsurara looked like she wanted to tell him to stay, but after a while she said, "I understand. I shall keep our home and family safe."

"Thank you Tsurara." Rikuo leaned in to give her a quick kiss while the kids were still looking in the opposite direction. _Let us deal with these nuisances so we can return to a comfortable family life again._

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><p><em>Haaaah…<em> Rikuo sighed after he realized why his laptop suddenly turned off. _I forgot to plug in my laptop again._ He rose from the floor, walked to a small cupboard and took the adapter from it, which he then used to put his laptop to recharge. _Well, I may as well take a small break._

Rikuo sat back onto the floor and leaned against the wall. It was past midnight, but he was still in his human form. The deskwork had that strange power to calm his youkai blood.

Rikuo took a pipe, which he snatched from his grandfather a while ago, and lightened it up. In his youkai form, he used to smoke it for fun, but these days he smoked it in order to somewhat reduce the stress.

_Just what am I missing here…?_ Rikuo was not sure himself on what was the cause of this anxiety that he felt since several years ago, since before _that incident_. For no reason at all, he felt something was amiss. When he asked his grandfather about it, he was told that it may have been the family's clairvoyance. His grandfather was able to predict a happy future that lay in choosing Youhime as his wife whereas his father was able to sense that his death was coming.

Rikuo was not sure how much truth there was to his grandfather's claims, but one thing was for certain: Rikuo was right to feel anxious. After a long line of peaceful years, a number of new enemies have sprung up. _No, not sprung up: they were always there, hiding in shadows and preparing themselves. I just did not notice for a long time._

One of those enemies was someone he was aware of all the time: the _Hyaku Monogatari_. Even though Rikuo destroyed most of that clan around twenty years ago, several of its leaders survived and plotted a new war with the Nura Clan. _This tiresome war had already lasted for more than three hundred years. How much longer will it take until they just give up?_

His other enemy was hiding in plain sight. It was the _Hashima Kyushu Youkai Clan_, which was formed by a youkai called Suiro Mizuchi after the Second Gokadoin Cleansing ravaged the island of Kyushu. This youkai had turned that land of laid-back youkai into an uptight society which even Hagoromo Gitsune would call stuck up.

For a long time, they were no threat at all. But recently, Mizuchi had proclaimed that he would take the mantle of the Lord of Pandemonium for himself. That could be achieved only by either taking down the current Lord of Pandemonium, Nura Rikuo, and his clan or by forcing all large youkai clans of Japan into submission. Mizuchi wanted to use both approaches.

And then there was the _Shin Sekai_, an ominous group about whom Rikuo knew little. And he did not like that at all, therefore he was personally going to the United States where, as his sources told him, a branch of their group operated.

Rikuo was not sure which of these groups were the source of his anxiety, and maybe it was neither. But even if the anxiety was not there, it was his duty to put a stop to them.

And that was what he was going to do, no doubt about it.

And then the door slid open. _Ah, I was wondering when we would come to this._ Rikuo sighed.

"Dad," his daughter said and walked into his room, closing the door behind her.

"Let me guess: you just heard I am going to the States tomorrow." He was expecting her to come since he told everyone that he would be absent for a while and that Tsurara would be in command of the clan during his absence.

The issue at hand was the inheritance. By tradition, the Supreme Commander's heir was to act as the Underboss, aka the Commander's right hand. In the youkai yakuza, it was actually seen as a humiliation to not have their heir become an Underboss after age of thirteen, which the youkai viewed as the age of adulthood.

But after what happened eight years ago, Rikuo had trouble convincing himself to follow such traditions through. He knew that he was over-protective, but he could not stop himself and intentionally did as much as he could to keep his children safe, something that became increasingly harder the older they became. By now, both she and her brother were able to leave the mansion and put themselves in danger, but he could not do anything about it. They were no longer children.

But he could cut off ways that would endanger them. The title of the Underboss came with its own share of threats and so he was unwilling to give it to her, at least not until she grew up some more. And seeing as he himself was still relatively young, there was no need to rush it: he could even wait until she finished college.

However, that did not stop her from, rightfully, feeling annoyed.

"Yes that I did," Ritsura said and sat at the opposite side of the table, her arms crossed and her eyes narrowed in annoyance. "What's going on, Dad? For which reason are you, personally, going all the way to another continent?"

"Dad is going there because dad has some important business to take care of." Rikuo put down his pipe as he did not want to smoke while his child was in the same room. "So, what did you come to talk about? Do you want to complain about not putting the clan under your supervision?"

"No, Mom is better fit for such an important task than I am. I want to ask you to take me with you."

"Out of question. You have school and other duties. You can't waste your time on this."

"School kind of loses its worth when your future has nothing to do with the usual human life." Her golden eyes narrowed even more in show of annoyance. "My actual education is to follow you around and learn from you."

"Childhood is short and adulthood is long. You should enjoy these times while you still can." Seeing as his words left no visible effect on her, he went to another topic. "Look, there are many reasons why I can't take you with me, Ritsura."

"It is one reason only." Ritsura said and Rikuo could not contradict it. "Fine, don't take me with you if you think it is that dangerous. But at least give me _something_ to do! I can't just sit around and vegetate!"

He remembered that scene from eight years ago. If he went mellow, she would just ask for more. He could not let that happen. "Sorry Ritsura, but I fear that there is nothing that I can have you do."

"Please!" Ritsura put her hands together. "Please Daddy!"

"Sorry Ritsura. I have to take care of a lot of business before I depart for the States," he said and turned on his laptop to make the point clearer. "Don't you have an exam tomorrow? You should go and study for it."

He could feel Ritsura's eyes on him, and the begging coming from them. But after a few moments she just said a small "Yes, father," and left.

When he could no longer hear her footsteps, his forehead fell onto the fingers of his hands. He truly wanted to oblige to her requests: she was old enough (and older than he was when he became the commander of the entire clan), had the enthusiasm and was strong in both body and mind. But whenever he thought of letting her do her duty, his paranoia kicked back in.

Only now that he was a father did he truly understand just how dangerous the world in which he and his family lived in was.

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><p>"Remind me sister…" Rihan, in his human form with shoulder-length black hair, asked while looking at his sister who walked just in front of him. "Where are we going again?"<p>

"I am kinda pissed so I wanna vent myself." Ritsura punched her own hand.

"That doesn't really answer my question, idiot."

"You know that abandoned dorm near here?"

"Yes, I do." Rihan understood now what she intended to do. "So, we are going to kill the unruly youkai who live there, right?" The Nura clan was preparing a raid on it, but that raid was supposed to take place in two days.

"Of course, a number of humans have been assaulted in its proximity and we have confirmed that the urban legends residing there were at fault."

"And you hope to prove yourself, again, now that you are strong and reliable."

"No, I have already proved myself enough." She punched her hand again. "I am just frustrated enough that I don't care about risks."

Rihan sighed. Truth be told, he was on his way there as well, hoping to try out some of the techniques he was practicing. But with her there, he would keep back and fight in the usual manner which he had already started to find boring.

In any case, he was scouting the place for several days and by the looks of it, there was nobody strong enough in there. And with two of them there, this fight was unlikely to be dangerous.

"So, what excuse did father use this time?" Rihan asked a question that made Ritsura look at him in confusion. "Don't look at me like that. After Dad said he was leaving for the States, the whole clan just started waiting until you went to argue with him."

"Hm, it truly is becoming repetitive," Ritsura sighed and stopped walking, "He used the school excuse this time but I found a way to get around it." Ritsura leaned against a lamppost. "And then he decided he had a lot of work to do and so was in too much hurry to talk to me."

"He is not even trying anymore." Although Rihan did not argue about inheritance with his father, he also had his share of troubles: for a good many years, his father was too over-protective about him. _But then again, who am I to complain?_ Rihan's eyes narrowed. _It is my fault that he is like that._ He had to keep himself from grabbing his own stomach. "Are you blaming me for this?" These words, which often appeared in his head whenever his sister had an argument with their father, accidentally left his lips.

"What?" Ritsura gasped at that question. "Don't be stupid, it is not your fault!" One could see in her eyes that she honestly thought so.

But somehow he felt annoyed by the fact that she did not blame him. "Idiot, you yourself should remember how he actually used to be enthusiastic about the two of us walking in his steps." Rihan crossed his arms and averted his eyes. "Until I decided to act like an idiot and got myself-OUCH!"

Sometime after he averted his eyes, his sister walked up to him and slapped both of his cheeks with her hands. However, the slaps were too weak to do anything but surprise him. "Idiot! Even if _that_ did not happen, many other things could later on. I could have done something stupid, someone could have come and harmed us… many things could have happened. And all of them would have resulted in this same scenario."

"There was a good chance it would not have."

"May, may not have… they are all fictional scenarios that do not matter. What matters is the present, and what we do with it." Ritsura put her arms on her hips as she continued to lecture him.

"Yet you too changed that day," Rihan argued back. He knew that she too had regrets on that day, but he did not mention it aloud.

"As did you brother…" His sister seemed sad. "Between me, Dad and you, you are the one who has changed the most… of course, how would you not." And she blamed herself for it, there was no doubt about that.

_Shit, I completely ruined her mood. _"Aren't we forgetting something? I thought we were going to kick some ass."

"Ah…" Ritsura looked like she really did forget about it. "Of course… let us go kick their asses and prove to Dad that we are strong and independent brats!"

"So, at the end we are proving ourselves, huh?"

"Well you got me into that mood," Ritsura said and pointed her finger at him, "In any case, the one who kills less has to pay for the ice cream box!"

"Challenge accepted, sis," Rihan turned into his youkai form, "But it seems some of them are trying to ambush us." Rihan turned behind himself and saw that they were surrounded by numerous shady figures.

"Oh, they sent us a welcoming party!" He could feel Ritsura's back touch his and could hear the sound of a sword being taken out of its sheath. "I will kill more~"

"I wonder about that, sis." Rihan did not intend to lose this round of sibling rivalry.

* * *

><p>~)(~<p>

* * *

><p>"What are you doing, Rikuo-sama?" Tsurara entered her and her husband's room while Rikuo was reading something on the Internet.<p>

"Ah, Tsurara." Rikuo greeted his wife. "Nothing, I am just reading something."

"What are you reading?" Tsurara asked and sat beside him, close enough that their foreheads almost touched. "The Kudan Prophecy?" Her eyes narrowed at this prophecy that almost destroyed her beloved's life twenty years ago. "Why are you reading this?"

"No reason, I just felt like reading something to take my mind of other things," Rikuo said but the intensity in Tsurara's eyes told him that she did not buy it. "Alright, I was not fully honest." Rikuo looked at the screen again and read the words spoken by the Kudan twenty years ago.

"_Listen well, humans."_

"_This country will be destroyed in the near future."_

"_If you want to be saved, then find he who has been born from the union of youkai and human…"_

"_The cursed one, the third of the Nura Clan, Nura Rikuo… Kill him!"_

Rikuo did not know about which enemy did his Clairvoyance warn him about, but something about the Kudan Prophecy made him feel stressed. "The prophecy says that, if the humans don't kill me, I will bring ruin to the country."

"Yes, we knew about that bunch of lies already." Tsurara sighed and shook her head. "And we proved that it was all false."

"But is it really?" Rikuo said with worry in his tone. "If the Kudan is a youkai created to bring a prophecy, than shouldn't it bring just that? It is born to tell it and then immediately dies."

"It doesn't change the fact that you did not destroy the country." Tsurara tried to comfort him by putting her arm around him and her head on his shoulder. The gentle cold coming from her body did truly make him feel more at ease. "And it is impossible for you to do it."

"Yes, you are right about that." Rikuo had many doubts about himself, but he was certain he would never allow himself to let something like that happen.

"Besides, even the humans don't believe in that thing anymore. Thanks to Kiyotsugu-san's and our clan's efforts, your name has been cleared. And without enough belief, a Tale can't come true."

"Yes, that's true…" Rikuo was ready to accept that theory when, after saying those words inside himself, a strange nausea overwhelmed him.

"Rikuo-sama? Are you not feeling well?" Tsurara noticed his change in behavior.

"No, I am fine…" _That… for some reason, what she just said is NOT a good thing…. We are missing something important in that prophecy, but what?_ Rikuo rubbed his eyes that had gotten exhausted from the work-filled day. _Enchou, just what was your actual plan?_

* * *

><p>~)(~<p>

* * *

><p>The sun rose, and time had come for Rikuo to leave for the States.<p>

"Take care, Rikuo," Tsurara said his name without a honorific, something she rarely did, and gave him a kiss.

"You too, Tsurara," Rikuo gave her another kiss, "Keep the clan safe while I am away."

"You know I will," Tsurara replied with a smile.

His son and daughter have also found their way to him, both leaning against the wall, one beside another. Rikuo did not fail to notice the scratches on their faces. "As for you two... I have not even left and you've already gotten yourself into a fight." Rikuo would have probably been angrier if Aotabou and Kurotabou had not kept guard on them from the shadows.

""Sorry Dad..."" They both said in unison, although they did not really sound like they were sorry.

"In any case, you both keep safe... and please no more stunts like that." Rikuo pulled the two of them towards him and gave his beloved kids one big hug. "Don't let Daddy worry while he is so far away."

"You make it sound like we are ten years old." Rihan was the one to notify him on how cheesy he sounded.

"To me, you both will forever be five-year olds." Rikuo let them go and smiled. "Oh who am I kidding, I still remember you both since when you were as large as my hands." He rubbed their hands while they grumbled something under their breaths. "See you both when I return." And after saying that, he walked past them.

"Now listen here, you old man!" And of course, his daughter could not let him go without saying something special. "When you return, you will see that I am more than worthy of being the Underboss!"

"Ritsura, don't act like a kid!" Tsurara was the first to admonish her daughter.

"Sis, you just told him that you will be causing more stunts." Rihan sighed, even though he seemed to find it entertaining.

"Just stay safe... and smart, please." Rikuo threw a smile to his little princess.

"Rikuo-sama, we will miss the plane!" Daruma called after him.

"As I said, stay safe both of you!" Rikuo waved his hand one last time and started walking away, not even realizing that his many enemies were preparing to make their first moves.

* * *

><p><strong>Author Notes:<strong>

Hello folks! Time sure flies, doesn't it? It feels like I started this story only a year ago, yet twice that much time had passed and _The Shin Sekai_ had reached its second anniversary and had already grown to be the largest fanfic in the NuraMago community, followed closely by Citsimsan's _Kitsune no Mago_ (we are counting both the main fic and the sequel ;) ) and the third most reviewed one. And we have yet to pass a third of the journey…

In any case, I hope you liked this special, which included some scenes which you guys wanted but did not get enough in the main story yet, aka the scenes focused more on the interaction between the members of the Nura family.

However, wanting more of family scenes was not the sole reason I wanted to write this chapter. After two years of writing this fic, there were some things I thought were missing in the first chapter: why did I not start before Rikuo left? Why did I not show the Nuras in the natural habitat before nasty stuff the fan? Actually, why not start with marriage, pregnancy or birth as the Prologue?

And let's not talk about stuff I developed as the story went on, like the accident from eight years ago and the role that the Kudan Prophecy played in the story? Oh wait, none of you knew that the Kudan Prophecy was important… well it is and I put it here to remind you of it before it starts to play the role in the story. If I knew what I would do with it from the start, I'd have mentioned it in the first few chapters.

And that's why this special is called Chapter 0. Summed with Chapter 1, it makes a somewhat improved start of the story IMO (and yes, I will mention in ch1 that new readers might want to check this special before or after reading ch1).

In any case, thank you all for keeping up with me for two whole years and I hope you keep reading fanfiction for a while longer! And now please excuse me, I must return to doing my job: achieving world domination.


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